The Angel's Sun
by Chapgirl
Summary: Solangelo, my OTP. Since they become canon in Trials Of Apollo but Rick never gave us a 'how it actually happened', I thought I'd give it a try. It's a sweet, innocent love story befitting a grumpy son of Hades and a cheerful son of Apollo. I love those two!
1. Chapter 1

"Wait," Percy said. "So you mean –"

"Right," Nico said again. "But it's cool. We're cool. I mean, I see now… you're cute, but you're not my type."

"I'm not your type… Wait. So –"

"See you around, Percy," Nico said. "Annabeth."

She raised her hand for a high five.

Nico obliged. Then he walked back across the green to where Will Solace was waiting.

His chest felt lighter. Sure, his heart was still racing, despite his casual words, but he felt elated, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. And, of course, Percy's dumbfounded face had been a bonus. He smirked, then his gaze fell on Solace. The son of Apollo scowled at him, but more in confusion than anger and the morning sun gleamed in his hair. Nico's heart skipped a beat.

Great, from one easygoing, stubborn airhead to another. Nico sighed. Maybe Percy had been his type after all; one way or another.

"What was that?" Will asked when Nico was in earshot.

"Nothing," Nico said. "I just had to settle a tab."

"A tab?" Will looked even more confused at he glanced back to Percy and Annabeth. "I think you broke Percy," he said sheepishly.

"You can fix him, can't you?" Nico asked, not letting Will see his bemusement. "Talking about fixing." He strolled past Solace into the cabin. "You said something about fixing me?"

"Oh Gods, yes!" Will's eyes widened and he hurried after Nico. "Have you looked at yourself? You look awful!" He chided.

Wonderful; perfect first impression, huh? They both entered the sickbay, where dozens of Demigods lay more or less incapacitated. Nico recognised some Roman faces that were still unable to be moved to Camp Jupiter but Nico had no doubt the heap of Apollo kids that bustled about would have them patched up in no time. They all looked torn and tattered, but happy to be alive.

"The shirt was the Coach's idea, not mine," Nico grumbled when he realised the array of orange and purple T-shirts gleaming back at him.

"The shirt?" Will grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into a private nursing room. "When have you last looked into a mirror?"

He placed Nico in front of a large mirror, glaring over his shoulder into the reflecting surface. Will's mouth was close to his ear and Nico's heartbeat sped up. Then he took a look, a _proper_ look at himself and almost gasped. Solace had been right. The bright floral-print shirt was torn in several places, but that was his least problem.

Nico's eyes were sunken, he looked horribly exhausted. His skin was pale, almost translucent and he was barely more than flesh and bones. His clothes hung baggy and ragged around his frame, his jet-black hair was greasy and unkempt. Simply said, he looked like an underfed street-cat. And here he was crushing at a sun-tanned, blond-haired and blue-eyed surfer dude. Not that Will didn't look tired, but not nearly as bad as Nico. Nico turned away from the mirror in frustration.

"I am the son of Hades," he said with false arrogance. "This is nothing."

"Sure." Will had turned away from Nico and was rummaging through a drawer that Nico assumed held doctor's appliances. "Now strip."

"What?!" Shocked, Nico whirled around, blushing deep red.

Will looked up at him and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, don't give me that look, diAngelo. Doctor's orders."

"I –" Nico tightened his arms around his chest and buried his fingers in the fabric of his ridiculous shirt.

"Nico, I'm a healer." Will approached him with a stern look. "But to heal I have to get a better look at you."

Nico gritted his teeth, embarrassed and frustrated, but he reminded himself that he wanted to change. To let others in. His fingers relaxed and he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. His throat felt dry, almost as dry as when he had lived off nothing but pomegranate seeds. Feeling very uncomfortable, he folded up his shirt and placed it on a nearby chair.

"Sit down." Will gestured towards the surgery couch and Nico trotted over, staring at the ground. "Okay."

Nico shuddered as the cold head of the stethoscope touched his chest. Will towered over him, his eyes closed and listened closely. Nico swallowed.

"You're heart seems… fine." Will opened his eyes and studied Nico's face for a moment. "Now take a deep breath. Good. And out. Alright."

He took off the stethoscope, looking satisfied.

"It seems your injuries are limited to exhaustion and – what is THAT?" Will pointed at Nico's arm and the son of Hades tried to cover up the swollen, red claw mark Lycaon had left behind.

"Nothing," he murmured.

"That's not nothing!" Will insisted.

"But –"

"No."

"I don't –"

"Nico!"

"Werewolf claw marks." Nico's gaze shifted to the ground.

"Excuse me?!" Will looked enraged and Nico was surprised to see him like that.

"Lycaon," he simply answered, shrugging.

"And you tell me that now?" Will forced Nico's hand from the wound, took a look at the mark and returned to his drawer.

"There are others with way worse injuries than this." Nico felt a little annoyed by the accusing tone the other boy had assumed.

"That," Solace perked up his head to glare at Nico. "Is NOT the point."

He returned with medicine and bandages and began to dab at the wound. The stabbing pain had been so consistent for days now that Nico barely noticed the stinging of the ointment.

"Do you have any idea how harmful werewolf inflicted wounds can be? I can't believe you did your Underworldy – stuff – with such a wound."

Nico grimaced.

"Look, now, Solace," he began. "It's not like I had a choice. You know, what with saving the world and all!"

Will only glowered at him, obviously unimpressed.

"You've almost gotten yourself killed," he growled while he wrapped a bandage around Nico's arm. Then Will did something Nico didn't expect: he began to sing: A low, soothing song in ancient Greek. Nico only picked up bits and pieces of the song, but it told of sunlight and warm, gentle summer days. He was surprised when he realised that his wound already hurt a lot less that before, but he wasn't ready to give Will that much slack. Solace's song faded, leaving Nico longing for the warm summer sun. Nico _never_ longed for the sun.

"What's your deal with saving people anyway?" He demanded grumpily. "It's not like you can run around and heal the entire world."

When Will's eyes met Nico's, they were filled with a deep, dark sorrow. Instantly, Nico regretted his remark. Ugh, he was so much better at dealing with the dead than with the living. To Nico's surprise, Will spoke. Slow and guarded at first, then with more force.

"My mother," he said, "was a good woman. Kind, bright, always looking out for me, trying to hide me from the monsters."

Nico silently cursed himself. He had an idea where Will's story was headed.

"They found us anyway. A hellhound, attacking us out of nowhere. My mother shielded me, protected me, but the hellhound wounded her deeply." Will's voice cracked a little and Nico was too ashamed to look up, too afraid to see the hurt in Will's sky-blue eyes. "I'm not a fighter. I did what I could, but the hellhound almost got me, too. Then Gleeson Hedge appeared, smashing the hellhound to pieces. I was shocked, but I went back to my mother's side. She was still alive, still breathing, but her wounds were too deep. I couldn't save her," he whispered.

Nico grit his teeth. He knew that "I'm sorry." didn't really cut it. Upon Bianca's dead, the "I'm sorry"s had only made things worse. He clenched his fists.

"I didn't mean to –"

"No, it's not your fault," Will said hastily. Nico looked up and saw him smiling, but the smile didn't quite reach his wet eyes.

"And yet you're taking care of a son of Hades," Nico murmured darkly, feeling even more guilty than before.

"Idiot." Will slapped Nico's healthy arm. "It's got nothing to do with you. Of course I'll help my friend."

Nico stared at him, a little dazed from exhaustion and a powerful mix of emotions swirling in his chest.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

Will's eyes widened and his ears reddened as he quickly turned to his drawer again.

"Anyway." He cleared his throat. "That's all for now. Now go sleep, Doctor's orders."

Nico blinked, suddenly realising just how tired he was. Sleep sounded wonderful.

"Alright, Doctor Solace." He stretched and lay down on the surgery couch. As soon as his head touched the soft leather, he began to fade away. He could barely hear Will inhaling sharply.

"That's not what I meant, Death Boy!" He protested. "Not right there, right now!"

"Don't call me… Death…" And Nico had slipped away.


	2. Chapter 2

"Nico? Hey, Nico!" Will shook the younger boy, but the son of Hades didn't budge. His breathing was slow and steady, so Will guessed he wasn't harmed, only… asleep.

He sat down no the couch and studied Nico's face. His expression, usually full of scorn and unrest was now utterly peaceful. DiAngelo, huh? He looked like an angel, indeed. Will had been so surprised when he had discovered the son of Hades at the Roman war camp. He was shocked to see him, but also strangely elated. Until Nico had opened his mouth. Seriously, the guy was way too hard on himself and Will had felt personally offended when Nico had stated that he had no home at Camp Half-Blood. The times he had tried to befriend Nico after the Great War, he had always looked distant, his eyes following Percy and Annabeth whenever they were around. Just his luck, he'd thought, falling for a boy whose heart already belonged to someone else, to a girl, no less.

Will sighed and took out a blanket from one of the drawers. He draped it over Nico, careful not to wake him, though he doubted he would. The boy slept like the dead. How ironic. As he watched Nico sleep a wave of tenderness came over him and he gently caressed his raven hair. It was as jet-black as you would expect from a son of Hades. Then, suddenly realising what he was doing, he shot to his feet and took a step back.

"Idiot," he cursed himself. But Nico was just so… cute! Will shook his head and stepped outside. He told his siblings that Death Boy was sleeping in the private nursing room and went to attend the other patients, determined to banish Nico's sleeping face from his thoughts.

…

Nico gasped as his eyes flew open, still disoriented from the nightmare that had invaded his dreams. It wasn't like the usual prophetic nightmares that washed over demigods, but a cluster of sad and painful memories, shards and pieces he would rather forget. His mother's expression when Hades had been unable to protect her. Bianca's stubborn grimace in the fight they'd had before she'd left for her quest. Percy and Annabeth kissing. Tartarus. The cave of cupid. Will Solace, a gigantic hellhound looming over him, ready to attack.

Nico steadied his breathing and looked around. He was still inside the private nursing room of the medical quarters, a nice warm blanket draped over him. It was eerily quiet in his room and so he got to his feet and put on his horrible flower-print shirt. A quiet whimper came from the other side of the door and a soothing voice that Nico immediately identified as Will's. He rolled his eyes as his heart leaped, then he stepped outside. Will was the only medic around and aside from the one demigod he was attending, the others seemed peacefully asleep.

"It's okay, it's okay," Will said and then, quietly, began to sing another healing incantation. Unnoticed by Solace, Nico stepped closer; he had a way of moving silently in the night. Will's yellow hair was almost glowing in the shadows and Nico could see that his face was lined with worry as he bandaged the demigod's clothes. Nico identified her as a Roman legionnaire serving in the fourth cohort. As Will's song continued her pained face grew more relaxed and soon she had drifted off in a peaceful sleep. Will sighed, wiped his forehead and looked up. His eyes widened and he put a hand in front of his mouth before he could cry out.

"Nico!" He hissed. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Couldn't sleep." Nico shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep…" Will narrowed his eyes and studied him. "Nightmares?"

Nico looked away and heard Will sigh.

"Come with me," the older boy ordered and led him outside.

"What about the harpies?" Nico scanned the sky critically.

"It's okay," Will said and sat down on the wooden planks. "Medics get special rules."

"Is that so…" Nico murmured, more to himself than to Will. The son of Apollo gestured for Nico to sit down beside him and he awkwardly did so. Unable to look at his crush, Nico stared at the stars. He could make out the constellation of the Hunter Zoe Nightshade that Annabeth had shown him in his short stay at Camp Half-Blood.

"The Romans have left?" He finally asked.

"Yup, this afternoon," Will confirmed. Nico could feel his eyes on him.

"I hope they'll get back safely." Nico tried to ignore Will's gaze, but it wasn't easy. After a few minutes, it got annoying. "What?" He turned to Will.

"Earlier today…" the other boy began. "When you 'settled your tab' with Percy… did you tell him that you liked Annabeth?" The last words came out in a flurry and Nico felt his cheeks flush. He was glad it was so dark he could barely discern Will's face.

"What?! NO!" He hissed back. "Why do you ask? Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"I –"

"I NEVER liked Annabeth, not like that anyway." He pouted and stared at his toes.

"Is –is that so?" Will mumbled and from the corner of his eye Nico could see Solace squeezing his knees.

They sat beside each other in an awkward silence, Nico's heart racing after Will's strange question. Why had he asked that anyway? Nico felt so exposed, almost raw… sure, he had told Jason, Percy and Annabeth how he felt, and he had an idea that Reyna knew, but the others? He still had a long way to go for that.

"That girl, Reyna," Will said after a while, his voice shaky. "She's really pretty, huh?"

Nico felt a sting in his chest, but he didn't let it show. He couldn't expect Will to fell the same way.

"I guess." He shrugged. "I've never really thought about it." The utter truth. Not like he thought girls were attractive anyway. He glanced sideways at Will, his contours warm against the cold dark of the night. His cat-like features, the Adam's apple in his throat more distinguishable than it had been a year back. He looked older, wearier, but he still radiated a soothing kindness, a warmth Nico felt inexplicably attracted to. Yes, Reyna was probably pretty, but Will was so much more.

"Really? You never thought about it?" Will turned his head towards Nico, his blue eyes locking on his. He looked pleasantly surprised and Nico felt flustered. Will's gaze was steady, but his eyelids seemed heavy, as if he was drunk on exhaustion.

"I, I don't…" Nico stared at his hands, trying to find the words. He wasn't sure why he was even telling Will this, or how he would find the courage. But he somehow _knew_ he had to tell him the truth. "I didn't like Annabeth," he said weakly. "I liked Percy."

…

Will's heart raced. Though Nico had barely whispered the last words, he had heard everything. _I liked Percy_.

"Oh," he simply said and Nico stifled a laugh.

"Yes, oh."

Will felt stupid for not saying anything else, but his brain wasn't really able to process Nico's words.

"When you say 'liked'," he tried, his brain calling his heart to order. "As in 'like liked'?"

"Yep," Nico answered curtly, still staring at his hands.

Will's fingers dug into the floorboard.

"As in… past tense… likED?"

Now Nico scowled at him. Will was glad the darkness hid his undoubtedly red face.

"Yes. Will, what's wrong, you –" He was interrupted by a painful wail from inside the cabin. Immediately back in full-alert medic-mode, Will sprang to his feet and hurried inside, with Nico on his heels. One of the Hermes' kids was wriggling in pain. He hurried to his side and saw that the wound in the boy's side had reopened, red blood seeping through the bandages.

"Nico," he ordered, without losing a second. "Get me some bandages, and some medical gum."

"I – I don't know –"

"It's on the table over there." He pointed in the general direction, his eyes fixed on the patient. "Hey, listen to me," he said in a low, calming voice. "It's going to be all right, _you're_ going to be alright. I'm right here, okay? I won't let you die."

Nico hurried over with the supplies and Will got to work.

When he was finished, the patient fell into a light slumber and Will sat down on a nearby chair.

"Phew." He ran his hands through his hair. When he looked up he saw Nico standing in front of him, staring at him, completely dazed. "What?" He asked uncomfortably. Nico snapped out of his daze and averted his eyes.

"Nothing," the son of Hades muttered.

"Are you okay?" Will studied him with concern. The few hours of sleep had helped him a little, but Will wouldn't let Nico out of his reach until the promised three days were over.

"Yeah, just… tired, I guess." Nico shrugged.

"Oh, yeah, you must be." Will was still on an adrenaline high from the treatment.

"You're not?"

"Adrenaline," he simply explained.

"Ah." Nico stood there sheepishly until Will gasped and blinked.

"Uh, yeah, sorry, come here." He got to his feet and pointed at a bed. "You can sleep here. Let me just get you something to wear."

"Pyjamas?" Nico grumbled unhappily, but he sat down on his bunk.

"Oh, just wait."

Will scrambled off and returned with a fresh Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt and a pair of black PJ trousers that he figured must be Nico's size. He handed them to Nico awkwardly.

"Um, here…"

"Thanks." Nico looked at the fresh clothes in his hand. Will had to admit that the flower print shirt looked rather strange on Death Boy.

Will stood there for a few seconds until Nico looked up and stared at him. Suddenly coming to his senses, Will blushed and laughed awkwardly.

"I, uh, I'll just –" He pointed into the direction of the nursing room and hurried off, his heart beating noisily in his chest. He left the door open so he could hear his patients if they needed him, but slumped down on the surgeon's couch. He stared at the ceiling, replaying the words he had exchanged with Nico earlier.

 _I didn't like Annabeth. I liked Percy._

 _As in… past tense… liked?_

 _Yes._

His heart made a happy little dance as he realised that Nico fancied girls just about as much as he did.


	3. Chapter 3

When Nico woke the next day the sun had already moved quite a bit over the sky. The realisation made him think of Apollo, which made him think of Will. He grunted and covered his eyes.

"You awake?"

Nico looked up and saw one of the Apollo campers stand over him. the girl was younger than him and resembled Will way too much for Nico's taste.

"Uh, yeah…" He sat up and looked around the room. Quite a few bunks had emptied from before and the atmosphere seemed more relaxed. "Where's Will?" he asked unconsciously and wanted to bite his tongue.

The girl blinked at him.

"Having lunch, but he'll be back on duty after his break." She rolled her eyes. "Pulling an all-nighter and insisting to be back after lunch the next day, I swear he's the most stubborn mule of all times."

Nico chuckled; he thought the description fit Will quite well.

"What?" he asked when he found the girl stare at him in wonder.

"Nothing!" she said and blushed. "I, uh, I guess I've just never seen you… smile."

Nico knit his eyebrows. If just the thought of Solace made him smile, he didn't know what would happen if he met the boy. Nico had been glad that the patient had disrupted their conversation last night. He had felt uncomfortable with Will and his sheepish comments and silly questions. Then he had watched the medic work. He had been surprised how quickly the son of Apollo could forget everything else and concentrate only on his patient. The sight had stunned Nico and he had caught himself staring at Will quite a bit too long.

Nico was caught off-guard when his stomach rumbled noisily. He blushed.

"Uh, do you want me to get you some food?" She asked.

"No," he said quickly and winced when she looked hurt. "I mean, I'm able to go by myself. I'm only here because Will insisted I rest, anyway."

"Okay." She turned her attention to another patient and Nico got to his feet. With a pleasant surprise he found a pile of clothes on the chair beside his bunk. A black T-shirt and a pair of black jeans were neatly stacked together and a simple white note lay on top. Nico could discern Annabeth's neat and orderly handwriting.

 _This is the best I could find in the Camp store. I hope they fit. Thank you for being honest and for trusting us._

 _Love, Annabeth_

 _P.S. Sorry about Percy. He's a seaweed brain._

The last sentence made Nico smile. He closed the curtains around his bunk and got dressed, folding up the note and slipping it into one of his pockets.

Then he walked to the dining pavilion to grab some food. Even from afar he could hear Will's laughter ring through the valley and he saw his mop of golden hair dance in the sun. His heart jumped and he shook his head. He had to stop being so obvious about this.

"Nico!"

Nico's eyes followed the voice that had called him and he saw Jason waving at him, gesturing him to sit down with Percy and him at the table of Zeus. Nico smiled and waved back, though his eyes darted to Will who had looked up and was staring straight back at him. When their eyes locked, Will got startled and concentrated very hard on his food. Nico's heart sank a little, but he didn't show it. He strolled over to Percy and Jason.

The son of Poseidon blushed and waved awkwardly. His face was so sullen that Nico couldn't help but laugh. The other two boys stared at him.

"Chill, Percy, I'm not going to kiss you," he said. "I told you I'm over you, right?"

Percy nodded slowly as if his brain still hadn't processed the information and Jason's eyes widened.

"You told him?" he asked incredulously and Nico shrugged.

"I needed to clean the air."

"I see," Jason said and looked at Percy. "Good for you, but I think you broke Percy."

"Why does everybody keep saying that?"

"I'm not broken!" Percy protested and pouted. "Just surprised."

"Thanks," Nico grumbled, willing his magic goblet to fill with creamy hot chocolate. "You're not the only one."

"No, I mean," Percy started. "Rather than that, why exactly am I not your type? What's wrong with me?"

His face was so curious and worried that Nico couldn't help but snort, though he didn't answer.

"Really, _that's_ your problem?" Nico stared at him with amusement.

"I'm adorable," Percy insisted.

"Yes, yes." Nico grabbed the sandwich from his plate and bit into it. He hadn't noticed just how hungry he'd been until that moment. In mere seconds, the food was gone. "Gods, that was good."

Jason smiled warmly at him.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just glad you're okay." The son of Jupiter leaned back. Then Jason's eyes narrowed and Nico noticed a shadow hovering over his plate.

Before he could turn around, Will's angry voice rang in his ears.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Nico jumped, blushed, glanced at Percy and Jason and blushed even deeper. He closed his eyes and turned to Will.

"Solace."

"I said," Will insisted, looking very upset. "What are you doing here?"

"Having lunch." Nico tried to sound confident, nonchalant as Will's eyes narrowed. The other boy scanned the situation, his gaze shifting to Percy for what Nico felt was an eternity. Then he looked back at Nico.

"You're not supposed to be out of bed."

"I was hungry."

"Then you should have let someone bring you food."

Will's voice was so stubborn, Nico got annoyed. That Percy and Jason carefully watched their exchange didn't help.

"Gods, Solace!" he burst out. "I'm only exhausted, so technically I wouldn't even have to be in that cabin."

"You promised me –"

"This has nothing to do with you!" Nico sprang to his feet and glowered at him. Will's expression went from surprised to hurt and Nico instantly regretted his words. Nevertheless he grumbled, "Get out of the way." and brushed past Will.

…

Will stared after Nico, his heart clenching painfully in his chest. He had been a fool to assume that he had a chance with Nico, but love turns people into fools. At Zeus' table, Percy whistled.

"That was intense," the son of Poseidon commented and Will knitted his eyebrows.

"Don't you have a girlfriend to attend?"

"Excuse me?"

"Hey, Will," Jason Grace interfered, trying to break up the oncoming argument. "What is it that Nico promised you?"

Will was unwilling to share this information, but under Jason's bright blue eyes, he couldn't lie.

"He said he would stay in the infirmary and rest for three days. He almost drained himself to death during the last weeks."

He crossed his arms; the memory of a weak and ghostly Nico irritated him.

Percy looked glum.

"I know," he said weakly. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," Will said, but he could barely hold back his jealousy. "I'm forcing him to recover, though it doesn't look like I'm very successful."

"That's not true!" Jason encouraged. "I'm sure you're doing great."

Will did not like the attentive and inquisitive way in which Jason studied him.

"I've got to go now," he said. "Medical shift."

"Sure." Jason smiled.

"See you." Percy waved shortly.

"Bye."

As he left, Will could hear Percy turn to Jason.

"Hey, when Nico said I'm not his type do you think…"

The last words were drowned out by a host of campers noisily crossing Will's path. He was curious about what Percy had to say, but unwilling to turn back and ask him.

He made his way to the cabin, confused and angry so that he had to take a moment to compose himself. Negative emotions didn't work well in a healing environment. He took a deep breath and entered the cabin. It struck him by surprise to see how empty it was already. Several wounded demigods had left, many Romans on their way to Camp Jupiter and a couple of Greeks who had eagerly discharged themselves. He smiled at the confident way his cabin mates held themselves as they worked through the rows of the wounded. Then his heart jumped as he discovered Nico lying in his bunk, fully clothed and staring up at the ceiling.

A smile crept on his face as he approached the other demigod.

"Well," he said when he stood in front of Nico's bed.

Nico scowled but didn't look at him.

"It's good to see you here."

"Shut up, Solace."

Will grinned stupidly.

"Shall I have a look at your arm? Come with me."

He turned around without looking back but he heard Nico shuffle behind him so Will knew that he'd followed him into the private nursing room. Without saying anything, Nico sat down on the couch.

Will got out some supplies, ointment, a fresh bandage, and turned his attention to Nico's wound.

"It looks better," he said cheerfully.

Nico grunted something unintelligible.

"I'm glad you came back."

"A son of Hades doesn't break his promise."

"Really?" Will looked up to stare into Nico's confusingly attractive black eyes. "Because you seemed more than ready to, earlier."

"I didn't want to talk about it, right then, right there," Nico said.

 _Not in front of Percy,_ Will translated. A fresh wave of irritation surged through him and his grip around Nico's arm tightened.

"Solace!" Nico protested.

Will realised he was pressing his fingers on Nico's wound.

"Oh Gods, Nico, I'm so sorry!" Flustered, he let go and took a step back.

They shared a moment of heavy silence until Nico said:

"Don't worry about it."

Slowly, carefully, Will returned to his work. He applied some ointment and, while bandaging, sang a healing incantation. Soon, Nico was all patched up and ready to go. Will looked up, eager to instruct the other boy further and found Nico staring at him in a daze. Instantly, blood rushed to his face.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered, annoyed that he was unable to produce any better comment.

Nico knit his eyebrows.

"Nothing." He said, covering his bandage with his good hand. "I'll go back to sleep, then."

He got to his feet and moved towards the door.

"Yeah…" Will agreed. "And make sure you drink enough!" he called after him weakly as Nico slipped through the door and left him behind, flustered and feeling stupid.


	4. Chapter 4

Nico's heart raced as the door to the nursing room closed behind him. Hearing Will sing those healing incantations always fascinated him. It just wasn't the best timing that Will had looked at him right that moment. He slumbered back to his bunk, glad that the other healers were too busy to give him any attention.

Lying down he closed his eyes, trying not to think of a certain blonde demigod with an irritatingly soothing voice. It didn't work very well. Soon, however, Nico drifted off into another uneasy sleep.

With sleep, of course, came the nightmares. Misery, holding on to her shield, staring at him and telling him that she couldn't possibly make his life any more miserable. Thanks.

Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, a golden light started shining overhead. Nico started feeling warm and cozy, a light like the sun, only stronger, warmer. But the sun doesn't reach into Tartarus, Nico thought.

All around him, the vision of Tartarus dissolved until nothing but the gentle golden light was left and Nico was floating in the air. An easy, comfortable smile spread on his face as he curled into a ball and just drifted in this warm atmosphere.

…

Will watched Nico tossing and turning in his bed, a pained look on his face. He hadn't had an opportunity to talk with Nico about what had happened to him during the time he was away from Camp Half-Blood, but Reyna had asked him to take care of Nico and Hazel had mentioned Tartarus briefly when the Romans had left for Camp Jupiter. Will could only imagine what Nico was going through and the thought saddened him.

Unconsciously he put a hand on Nico's forehead and started humming a low tune. As he sang on, he could feel Nico calming down and he watched his face relaxing.

Will only hoped he could help Nico get better physically as well as emotionally.

…

The next morning Nico awoke feeling more rested than he had since he left for Camp Jupiter. After Bianca's death he had never slept so well, so calmly as he had that night. The thought almost brought him to tears. He shook his head and decided to go for some breakfast as, yet again, he was feeling horribly hungry.

Only when he stepped outside the infirmary he realised that the sun was just rising over the horizon. Nico blinked. He had never been up at the first rays of sun. It wasn't a thing for the children of Hades.

He decided to take the time and stroll to the lake. He let his gaze wander over the glittering water reflecting the brilliant morning sun. He held back a smile when he realised that the scene didn't remind him of Percy, but of Will.

"Geez," he said. Nico was about to turn and leave when he saw something glimmer at the far edge of the lake. He heard rotor blades and, curiously, the voice of Coach Hedge.

"Put your clothes on, cupcakes!"

Nico narrowed his eyes and stifled a gasp when he realised the thing approaching was Buford the Wonder Table. Buford set down before his feet with a holograph of the Coach marching over its top.

"What in Hades' name?"

He put a hand on the tabletop and all of a sudden a hidden drawer sprang open. In it Nico found a neatly folded letter with the inscription.

 _To my friends._

Curiously, Nico opened it and Leo's face popped from the paper. He listened to what the son of Hephaestus had to say, the turned on his heels and rushed toward the cabins.

…

Will got ready for his next shift at the infirmary. He had taken the night off and was well and rested, ready for new adventures. What he didn't expect when he looked towards the great lake was Nico di Angelo running towards him.

Nico's eyes were fixed on the cabin.

"Nico, what-"

But Nico just rushed past him, calling:

"Sorry, no time to explain."

Curious and a bit annoyed, Will took off after him.

"Hey, Nico, what's going on?!" He demanded.

"I'll tell you later. Just – could you just wake up Piper and Annabeth? Tell them to come to the Poseidon cabin?" Nico turned his head, a pleading expression on his face. Will scowled.

"Alright, but you better tell me what's going on when I'm back," he said.

"Yeah okay," Nico agreed and rushed off toward Zeus' cabin. "Jason! Jason, wake up!"

Will felt a little sting in his chest and wondered what on earth would be so important that Nico had to personally go and wake up Jason. Nevertheless he made his way to the Athena cabin.

Knocking carefully he was greeted by a very tired-looking Annabeth who had a textbook clenched to her chest.

"…yes?" She asked sleepily.

"Um, er…" Will made, "I just met Nico and he wants you to get up and come to Poseidon's cabin. For some reason he was very excited."

"What?" Annabeth looked torn between annoyed, amused, confused and curious. Will shrugged.

"Okay, okay, I'll come," she said and glanced up at the sky. "Ugh, is it morning already?"

Will nodded sheepishly. Annabeth rubbed her eyes and smiled.

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Thanks."

Then, Will went to Aphrodite's cabin, repeating the procedure. When the door opened he looked down on a yaoung Aphrodite boy, one of Piper's brothers, who had shoved a sleeping mask off his eyes and onto his forehead. It was a curious sight.

"Uh… could you get Piper for me?" He asked when the boy just kept blinking at him sleepily. The boy nodded and trotted off. A few moments later, Piper appeared, dressed in Pyjamas and a hoodie that looked suspiciously like Jason's.

Will told her about the situation and Piper narrowed her eyes, looking worried.

"Okay, I'll come down, just let me get my shoes."

And with that she jogged back into the cabin, slipped into her sneakers and the two of them made their way to Poseidon's cabin.

"So you don't know what's going on?" She asked Will.

"No… Nico wouldn't tell me anything either," he admitted half-heartedly. He couldn't believe how much that actually hurt him.

"I sure hope everything is alright." Piper scowled and reached for her dagger, Katoptris, which she had strapped to their waist before they'd left.

"Nico didn't look scared or anything!" Will tried to calm her down. "Only very excited."

More excited, in fact, than Will had ever seen him before.

When they reached cabin three, the other demigods of the prophecy had already assembled on Percy's doorstep.

"What's going on, Nico?!" Percy demanded, looking dishevelled. Will didn't have a crush on the son of Poseidon, but he could appreciate why Nico might fall for him. Percy was ruggedly handsome.

"Just wait a few more seconds." Nico rummaged through the pockets of his bomber jacket and pulled out a letter. His face looked like a child about to open the biggest Christmas present in history. "Okay," he said solemnly. "You better get ready."

He put the letter on the ground and opened it. Immediately, a holograph of Leo Valdez, a son of Hephaestus, popped up.

"Hey guys!" holograph-Leo called.

"Leo!" Piper gasped and Jason put an arm around her shoulders protectively. Percy and Annabeth locked hands, looking concerned.

Holograph-Leo went on to talk about how he had rescued Calypso from her island and how the two of them were now flying off to explore the world. He promised that they'd come visit and grinned sheepishly when he ended the letter with:

"All the best, guys, see you soon!"

Then the holograph disappeared. Will stared at the letter, then at Nico who was studying his friends eagerly, excitement gleaming in his black eyes.

Percy smiled and a single tear trickled down Annabeth's cheek. Jason looked relieved and started grinning.

"That's Leo for you," he said.

Only Piper was still staring glumly at the piece of paper. Suddenly, she burst out, her voice resounding over the camp.

"That stupid little prat!" she scolded. "He dares to send us this now? I mean, he was gone for days, _days_ , and not a word? And now he writes us? Telling us he's off having fun with his girlfriend?! I swear if he ever comes back, I'll-"

And then she described a variety of ways to torture 'Repair Boy', as she called him. Will suddenly had the strong urge to beat Leo Valdez into a pulp and he wasn't even a fighter. The others now looked utterly aggressive, water flowing out of Poseidon's cabin, the air around Jason electrifying, Annabeth reaching for her drakon-bone sword. When cracks opened at Nico's feet Will thought he had to intervene.

"Ah, Piper?" He said and she looked at him, furious. "I want to beat up Leo as much as everyone else here," he admitted, but, really, could you stop with your charmspeak?"

Piper's eyes widened as she looked around.

"Oh!" She gasped and added. "It's alright guys, calm down."

Immediately, Will felt nice and relaxed, a blissful smile spreading over his face. He found it scary just how powerful Piper could be. All around him, the supernatural phenomena stopped and the earth under Nico's feet pulled itself back together.

"You okay, Pipes?" Jason looked worried.

"Yeah." Piper stifled a laugh and then, suddenly, started crying. "Oh Jason!" She flung herself in his arms. "He's alive!"

"I know Pipes," Jason told her. "I've always known."

"That idiot." Nico scowled. "Father won't be happy."

"You're worried about them." Percy shot him a look that said 'What the actual Hades, dude?'

"I'm just saying." Nico shrugged. "With Hazel and – Hazel!"

"Percy!" Annabeth turned to her boyfriend energetically. "Rainbow, now!"

"What?" Percy blinked sheepishly. "I don't think he's willing to leave Tyson's sidfe,though…"

"Not the Hippocampus." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "We need an Iris message, Seaweed Brain."

"Oh – ooh!" Percy made, looking enlightened. Will wondered how the two of them ever got together.

Percy created a shower of water droplets and the morning sun created a shimmering rainbow on the surface. Nico tossed a golden Drachme into to water.

"Oh goddess, hear my prayer," he said. When the Drachme disappeared, he said: "Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, preator of Camp Jupiter."

Seconds later, Reyna's image flickered before them. When she discovered the message her eyes widened.

"Nico? Guys? Did something happen?"

"No, Reyna!" Annabeth stepped in, smiling kindly. "Quite the contrary, in fact."

"Could you get Hazel?" Nico asked.

"And Frank," Percy added hastily.

"Sure, but why?" She furrowed her eyebrows. Will snuck a look at Nico and saw him smiling slightly.

"You're in for a big surprise," Piper told her.

"Uh, okay… just hang on for a bit." She stepped out of the picture.

When she came back after a minute Percy seemed fidgety with excitement. He kept squeezing Annabeth's shoulder with his hands. She shooed him away.

"Stop that, Percy."

"Guys, hey." Frank Zhang came into view, grinning broadely. "Good to see you."

"Frank, we've seen them only a few days ago," Hazel chided, though her tone was gentle. "What's up, everyone?"

"Hey, sis." Nico waved at her and Hazel's gaze softened even more.

"Nico."

"So?" Reyna stepped in. "What's going on."

"Oh, well, you should see for yourself." Jason took up the letter, folded it and opened it again. As before, Leo sprung from the page and replayed the message. When he was finished Hazel was crying and smiling, Frank grinned and said:

"Stupid idiot."

Reyna smiled warmly, an expression Will had come to appreciate in the short time he'd known her.

"I'm glad he's okay," she said.

"When do you think he'll come visit us?" Hazel asked and Nico shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "But I'm sure it'll be soon. He'll want to tell us all about how he cheated death, don't you think?" He rolled his eyes and Hazel chuckled.

"You're probably right."

"So, well, that was everything," Percy said and grinned. "Good to see you guys."

"And you!" Frank responded eagerly.

"I'm already missing you guys," Piper admitted.

"Yeah, me too." Hazel smiled. "But it's also good to be home."

"I guess that's true." Jason took Piper's hand.

"Well, we do have some Preator duties to attend to, so…" Reyna inclined her head.

"Yup, and Percy has to start studying." Annabeth granted her boyfriend a cheeky smirk.

"Aw, man, really?" He complained. Will could think of a thousand better things to do at CHB than studying.

"You're quite behind on your grades." Annabeth scolded him.

"No breakfast?" Percy pleaded and gave her and adorable pout.

"Of course breakfast first. You'll need the carbs for using your brain. But we're going right back to the material afterwards."

Percy sighed then turned back to their friends from Camp Jupiter.

"You heard Wise Girl, time for me to get going." He shrugged.

Hazel chuckled.

"See you guys soon?" She asked, resting her eyes on Nico who smiled.

"Sure," he agreed. "You know I can always just Shadow-"

"Don't you dare think about it!" Will intervened immediately.

Seeing as he had kept quiet the entire time, everyone started staring.

"Will, what-"

"You're not doing any Shadowtravel until I'm giving you permission." He didn't care if the others eyed him funnily. He wouldn't let Nico get hurt so badly again.

"You're not my mom," Nico complained.

"Doctor's orders," Will insisted. Nico rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Okay…" Jason said awkwardly. "Anyway, I'll be travelling between the camps anyway, so I guess I'll see you sometime soon."

"Until then." Reyna smiled, waved, and the message disappeared.

"So, Doctor Solace, may we get breakfast?" Annabeth studied him with a sparkle in her eyes and Will blushed, hoping he hadn't given himself away.

"Uh… sure…" he mumbled and the six of them wandered to the dining pavilion.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, Nico." Annabeth said when they'd all gotten their breakfast and sat down at the Poseidon table. "I heard you're spending your time in the infirmary."

Nico swallowed a big bite of his apple and almost gagged. He blushed but hoped the others would think it was due to his coughing. Will sat beside him, close enough for their arms to touch slightly. Nico would _not_ be the first to withdraw his arm.

"Yeah…" he said. "I needed some rest, I guess."

"You guess?" Will scowled at him. "You were half-dead."

"I was not," Nico insisted, though he knew Will was right. He evaded everyone's gazes and looked at his apple.

"Oh?" Piper eyed him curiously. "Did you meet a nice girl there?"

Jason choked on his Cheerios and started coughing, Percy blushed to his roots and Annabeth barely held back a smile. Nico sighed; then he suddenly realised that Piper was the only person on the table that didn't know his 'secret'. The thought was strange, but it made him happy.

"Actually," he began, encouraged by how well the others had taken it. "I'm not interested in girls, Piper."

"Oh, well, maybe not yet, but I'm sure you'll be-"

"No," Nico insisted. "What I mean is I… like boys." There, he'd said it. It was the first time he'd actually, openly, admitted to it. It didn't feel half as horrible as he'd expected it.

Piper stared at him with big eyes.

"Oh – oooh! Oh?" She said, which amused Nico. He smiled faintly.

"Yes."

"And you knew?" She stared around, scanning their faces.

"Well, you know…" Jason shrugged.

Annabeth smiled wryly.

"Not like I'm his type." Percy shrugged and Annabeth elbowed him. "Hey!"

"Please, Percy, we've talked about this."

"I mean, come on? What's there not to like about me? I'm your type, right, Annabeth?"

"Yeah, yeah, you are." She said, though she didn't sound utterly convincing.

Nico was a little embarrassed but sitting here, with his friends (yes, he actually realised they were his friends), talking openly about something that had tormented him his entire life made him strangely happy.

Only after a few moments Jason seemed to realise that Will was at their table.

"Wait," he said and locked his eyes on the son of Apollo. "You knew, too?"

Will shrugged and Nico felt his face grow warmer.

"We kind of talked about it."

"How do you kind of talk about that?" Percy asked, his usual sheepish self.

"Percy, leave them alone." Annabeth scolded. The daughter of Athena was way too perceptive for Nico's taste and he started feeling restless.

"Hmmm." Piper studied them and he trusted her, a daughter of Aphrodite, even less.

His feet started feeling itchy. At last, he got up.

"Anyway," he said, looking around. "We've go to go now."

"What?" Will asked.

"Yes," Nico insisted. "Will has to go back to healing and I… have to rest."

Nico felt _very_ rested, indeed, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"But I haven't finished breakfast." Will looked up at him innocently and Nico could feel his ears burning.

"We're going!" He ordered and pulled the son of Apollo along.

…

"Nico!" Will called out as Nico dragged him over the courtyard. "Hey, Nico, slow down!"

Slowly, Nico reduced his pace. Will regretted his words when Nico let go of his sleeve.

"Sorry."

"No, um, I mean…" Will wasn't sure what to say. "How is your arm?"

Smooth.

Nico's hand wandered onto his werewolf claw mark.

"Better, actually," he said.

"Well, I'll be the judge of that," Will huffed, hoping to get Nico back into the infirmary.

When they stepped in together, Will's sister Thea scowled at him.

"Where were you?!" She demanded. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

Had he really spent so much time with Nico?

"I'm sorry!" He said and Nico stepped in.

"He was with me," he said and Thea cocked her head. "Uh, I mean – he was with me and Annabeth and Percy and Jason and Piper and then we Iris messaged Hazel and Frank and Reyna…"

"What are you talking about?" Thea looked utterly confused.

"What he means is there was a, um, emergency at Cabin three," Will tried.

"An emergency involving chocolate?" The pointed at his face and immediately Will wiped his face. Ugh, had he looked like that the entire time? He shot Nico a sideways glance.

"Anyway, I'm here now." Will walked past her energetically. "And you guys are fine without me anyway. There's barely anyone left in here."

In fact, counting Nico, there were only three patients left. The boy from the Hermes cabin who had cried out two nights before and a girl from Hecate.

Thea sighed.

"Alright, just get back to your work, alright?"

"Yes, yes." Will smiled; he knew his sister wasn't that stubborn. Good for him.

"I'll see you tonight at dinner."

"Bye."

And Thea walked off, leaving Will with his two sleeping patients and Nico.

"So, um…" Nico began and Will turned towards him.

"Hm?"

"I actually… I'm not really tired." The son of Hades checked out the tips of his shoes with great interest.

"Huh?" Will was confused. Hadn't Nico said earlier that he needed rest?

"Well, I, I mean… I slept really well last night… no dreams."

Will remembered himself singing Nico a lullaby and blushed slightly.

"Oh… that's good," he said sheepishly.

"Hm."

They just stood there in silence for a minute until Will thought of something.

"Oh, yeah, your wound!" he exclaimed and gently shoved Nico toward the nursing room.

"Ah, yeah…"

…

As the day before Nico rolled up the sleeves of his Camp shirt. Will approached him with skilful hands. He took off the bandaged and whistled when he saw the claw marks glowing faintly pink.

"It does look a lot better."

"See?" Nico said. "I told you so."

"Yup, you did." Will gave him an easy smile and Nico averted his eyes.

"A-anyway," he blurted out. "Thanks, um, for getting the girls earlier."

"Oh, that?" Will chuckled and Nico's chest was filled with butterflies. Oh, geez. "That was nothing. I'm glad Leo isn't dead."

"Yeah. It would have crushed the others if he had."

"You not so much?" Will looked up inquisitively.

"Well, I mean…" Nico didn't want to sound bad. "We are quite different, Leo and me, and so we never really bonded." Nico shrugged. "He had an aura of death around him all along."

"You better not walk around telling people that." Will smirked.

"I'm just stating facts," Nico answered, feeling a little bit annoyed. He was not a people person.

"You can't walk around telling people they're about to die. They won't like to hear that." Will had finished wrapping up Nico's arm and stared at him bemusedly.

"Yeah, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. Nobody wants to hang around that downer." Nico grit his teeth.

"Oh, shut it, Nico!"

Nico was surprised when he found Will glare at him angrily. He shrank a little.

"First of all, there are loads of people who want to be around you. Today should be an indicator for that." Will stemmed his hands in his sides, looking utterly enraged. "And secondly, you're great as you are, so don't worry about that."

Nico thought he hadn't heard right.

 _You're great as you are._

He stared at Will, dumbfounded. The son of Apollo seemed to have realised his wording and blushed.

"Uh, I mean," Will turned around to put his supplies back in the drawer, "you shouldn't change yourself for other people's sakes."

"Uh-huh." Nico nodded quietly and clenched his hands together.

"I, um, I should probably look after the other two now," Will said. "So why don't you rest?"

"I'm not tired, Will," Nico mumbled.

"Then, um…" Will looked at Nico, his face still flushed. "How about you help me?"

"Help you?" How could Nico help Will at healing?

"Yeah… I mean you could assist me and stuff…" Will shrugged, obviously at a loss of what to say.

Nico blinked, counted to ten and then said:

"Okay."


	6. Chapter 6

They spent the morning taking care of the other two campers and Will was surprised how well Nico handled himself. The other two had come away with quite grave injuries. But then again, as a son of the Underworld, Nico had probably seen way worse. Will tried to maintain easy conversation and the two of them found that they shared a secret desire for McDonald's food that neither of them could really explain.

"Heh." Will stifled a laugh. "We should sneak out of camp one day and get a takeaway."

"We – I guess we could."

Will didn't dare look at Nico, fearing his racing heart would give him away. Had they just (kind of) agreed on a date. Will grinned.

"Death Boy at McDonald's," he said. "I can't picture it."

"Don't call me that!" Nico pouted and it took all of Will's willpower not to pinch his cheek.

After a few hours, Nico's stomach rumbled audibly. Will smirked.

"Hungry?"

"Not really," Nico lied. Will found that extremely adorable.

"Well, I know I am," he said pleasantly. "Shall we go get some food?"

"But your patients." Nico frowned.

"Will be fine without me for a while."

"If you say so." He still scanned the room critically, but Will grabbed his wrist.

"Come on," he said. "Doctor's orders."

He had dragged Nico halfway over the green when Death Boy came to a sudden halt.

"Solace!" He stared at his wrist. Will realised he had been holding on to Nico the entire time, but he was in such a good mood, he wasn't going to let this go.

"What?" He smiled easily. "Embarrassed to be holding hands with a friend?"

Nico blushed and stared at his feet. Again. Will found him the most adorable thing in demigod history.

"This isn't holding hands," Nico mumbled.

"Hm? You're right."

With a sudden burst of courage, Will interlocked his fingers with Nico's. "This is."

"Will!" Nico hissed, glancing sideways. A couple of Aphrodite girls passed them, giggling away.

Nico looked quite tortured and Will decided not to take this too far. He didn't want the other boy to hate him.

"Alright, alright." He let go and shrugged. "Let's go get lunch, Death Boy."

He marched off, ignoring Nico who, hurrying after him, called out:

"Don't call me that!"

…

Nico's heart was still racing when he sat down for lunch at the Apollo table. Some of Will's cabin mates eyed him curiously, but made no comment. When Will had taken his hand Nico thought he was about to have a stroke. And then Piper's cabin mates even saw them. He feared he'd never hear the end of it now. Still, he was happy and the tiniest seed of hope started to grow in his chest.

As Nico feared, Piper and Jason approached them, grinning maliciously.

"Hey, Nico, Will!" Jason called out, the epitome of subtleness.

"Hello Jason." Nico rubbed his temples.

"Feeling rested?" Piper smiled and, had Nico been into girls, he probably would have been attracted to that smile.

"Yes," he answered curtly, unwilling to give the two of them an opening. It was bad enough that Jason was eyeing the clueless Will who was checking his sandwich for tomatoes. He had told Nico earlier that he hated tomatoes.

Nico took a sip from his coke.

"So, Will," Jason asked. "Is there anyone you like?"

Nico almost choked. He forced himself to swallow and tried very hard not to cough. Piper smirked. The Apollo kids burst out laughing. Will looked up stupefied.

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

"Well, you see, this friend of mine kind of fancies you, I think." His eyes flicker to Nico ever so slightly. "And she was wondering whether you are with someone."

Nico felt extremely embarrassed with a strong desire to open up the earth and disappear; which he actually was capable of doing.

"You can tell her friend that she doesn't have a chance," one of the other Apollo Campers said.

"Austin." Will shot him a warning glance.

"Oh, come on, it's not like you're secretive about this." Austin rolled his eyes.

Will sighed.

"What?" Jason asked.

"Will doesn't swing that way." Austin grinned. "He doesn't go after girls."

"What?!" Nico gasped and immediately covered his mouth. Will buried his face in his hands.

"You're…" Jason blinked at him.

"…gay, yes," Will confirmed weakly and waved Jason off. "It's not like I'm ashamed about it or anything."

"There's no reason to be!" Piper agreed eagerly.

"I just don't want things to get awkward in the showers or something." Will sighed again.

"We told you we're cool with it." Austin looked offended and Will smiled.

"Yeah, I know."

All this Nico only processed with about ten percent of his brain. The other ninety percent tried processing Will's statement. He was… gay; just like Nico! He couldn't believe it. Was there actually a chance for him? But… why hadn't Will told him about this before? After all, Nico had come out to him. He stared at Will, both elated and confused and a little hurt. When Will caught his eye, he blushed.

"I'm full," he said and pushed his half-eaten sandwich away. "I'll start checking up the wounded warriors."

And with that, he got up and left.

Nico still sat there, twisting his skull ring and thinking about the meaning of it all when Piper talked to him.

"Nico, hey, Nico!"

Nico looked up, startled.

"Huh, what?" he asked.

"I asked whether you could hold on to Leo's letter," she told him.

"What? Why?"

Jason and Piper had immediately offered to hold on to the parchment.

"Because," Jason explained, "if Piper keeps it any longer she will shred it and cast it into the Long Island Sound."

Nico furrowed his eyebrows.

"He just makes me so angry!" Piper stated. "Caring more about his girlfriend than his friends!"

"You really shouldn't be talking," Nico murmured unconsciously.

"What?!" Piper snapped and Nico shut up. He respected her almost as much as he respected Reyna and Annabeth, which meant he feared her almost as much.

"Nothing," he said. "I'll take the letter."

Piper handed it to him and he tucked it into a pocket of his jeans.

"Anything else?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Nope." Jason put an arm around Piper. "That's it."

"Okay then." Nico got to his feet. "See you guys later."

Then he lumbered off, determined to find Will and assist him with his chores.

…

Will was just stepping out of the Ares cabin when he ran into Nico. Naturally, the Ares kids had fought on the front line and come away with the worst superficial injuries, but they had great healing abilities and loathed staying in the infirmary. Clarisse had amused them all by showing them pictures of Coach Hedge's little baby boy, an adorable goatling with snow white fur and hair.

The son of Hades faced him head on, arms crossed in front of his chest, and pierced him with those dark eyes.

Will still hadn't gotten over what had happened over lunch. Sure, he wasn't ashamed of his sexuality, his mother had taught him that, but the fact that Nico had heard him… well, he just didn't want the other boy to fall for him purely because he was the only other gay kid around. He almost sighed, but caught himself. He was glad Nico had come to him on his own accord.

"Nico," he said calmly.

"Will."

And with that, without another word, Nico joined him on his tour round Camp, assisting him in removing bandages, checking on casks and cleaning out scratches. They had a lot to do and so, by the time the sun was standing low on the sky, they sat down by the lake together.

"Has someone collected Buford?" Nico asked.

"Buford?" Will asked, puzzled.

"Uh… it's a flying wonder table that Leo created."

When Will stared at him in confusion, Nico shrugged.

"I guess the other Hephaestus kids have picked it up."

"Hm."

They stared out onto the water for a while, neither one speaking. When Nico finally said something, it was in such a low voice that Will could barely make out his words.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The son of Hades asked.

"What?" Will blinked, his thoughts still with Buford, the flying wonder table.

"About that, you know…" Nico rested his chin on his knees awkwardly. "What we talked about during lunch today."

"Oh." Will blushed. "You mean that."

"Yup."

"I, er…" He could hardly tell him the truth, really. "It never really came up."

What a stupid answer. Apparently, Nico thought so as well, because he got to his feet and glared and Will angrily. Then he stormed away without another way.

Will immediately ran after him.


	7. Chapter 7

Nico made his way to the Amphitheatre. He had the urgent desire to kill some dummies with his Stygian Iron sword.

"You stupid…" he cursed under his breath.

"Nico, wait!" Will called out behind him, but Nico just increased his pace.

Unfortunately, since Will was way taller than him. he eventually caught up. Nico was close to the amphitheatre's outer wall when Will placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Nico, hey!"

Nico whirled around and slapped Will's hand off. He was angry, hurt and annoyed all at the same time. Those were familiar feelings, but he hadn't felt them all in a while and so they'd come back so much stronger than before.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed.

"Please, just let me –"

"What? Explain?"

"Yes, I –"

"Explain how in the world you thought my coming out to you wouldn't call for you telling me the same? It didn't come up?" Hot anger bubbled under his skin and the grass at his feet wilted, but Nico didn't care.

"No, listen, it's not what you think!" Will sounded desperate, but Nico wasn't inclined to listened.

"I don't want to hear it, Will!" he told him. "Oh, I get it, make friends with the dark underworld kid, get him to tell him your secret so that you can laugh away and have fun with it. But open up to me? Who thinks what I might do, right? I'm just the sad little –"

He didn't get any further in his rant because Will had grabbed his shoulders and slammed him against the wall. Before Nico could say anything Will sealed his lips with an angry kiss. Nico's eyes widened, him arms turning limb and falling uselessly to his side. If Will hadn't pinned him to the wall, he feared his legs would have given way underneath him. His brain ceased to function completely.

When Will drew back, his face was bright red. He studied Nico for a second, then turned away hastily.

"I – I have to go now!" He said and sprinted off.

As soon as he was out of sight, Nico slumped to the ground touching his lips where Will had just kissed him. What in Hades' name had just happened?

…

Will sprinted to his cabin, fell on his bed and decided to just go and die in embarrassment. How could he have done it? But, by the gods, he had to do something to make Nico understand. Just these few seconds of being hated by him had been enough to tear Will's heart apart.

"It's okay," he grumbled into his pillow. "I don't actually have to meet him."

The next days Will kept himself so busy that he didn't have to face Nico. Whenever the son of Hades was close, he looked for another excuse and escaped the scene. He managed that for about a week, when his cabin mate Thea approached him.

"Will," she said, looking insecure. "Nico di Angelo wants to speak to you."

Will jumped.

"What?!"

"He's waiting outside."

"Tell him I'm not here." Will's voice was alarmingly shrill.

"He's kind of threatening to attack us…" Thea said weakly.

"What?"

Then he heard it; Nico was throwing a big ruckus outside.

"I swear to you, Solace, if you don't move your butt outside this seconds I will summon an army of the undead and tear your cabin to pieces!"

Will hurried to the entrance.

"Nico!" he scolded.

"Oh, good, you're free," Nico just said. "Come with me."

"Actually, I'm –" Will began, but Nico only shot him an evil look and Will obliged.

His heart raced in his chest as he followed Nico to the edge of the woods.

The other boy turned to face him, glowering at him.

"Why are you avoiding me?" Nico demanded.

"I'm not avoiding you…" Will said evasively. "I'm just busy."

"Please!" Nico cried. "I talked to your cabin mates. You've had a nice relaxing week."

"I just, I don't…" Will stared at the ground.

"Why did you kiss me?" Nico asked, suddenly in a quiet tone.

Will looked up and saw that Nico had blushed.

"I, uh… do you really have to ask?"

Nico kept staring stubbornly.

"I just, I… you're really cute!" Will tried explaining, fumbling with the words.

"Cute?" Nico looked disgusted.

"Holy Apollo, Nico, I kissed you because I didn't want you to hate me. I like you!"

Will stared daringly at Nico, watching his reaction. At first, nothing happened, then Nico reached towards Will, lacing his longs fingers around his neck. Will's chest tightened when he realised what was going to happed. He leaned down and let Nico kiss him timidly. Then he pulled him closer, embracing the son of Hades in a more passionate kiss. When he let go they both stood very close, leaning their foreheads against each other. Then, Nico muttered the four words that brought Will over the moon with happiness.

"I like you, too."


	8. Chapter 8

Nico's heart raced uncontrollably in his chest as Will held him. He couldn't quite grasp what had just happened, couldn't believe he had said what he had said. It seemed so… unbelievable. After a moment of silence, Will was the first to speak. Nico didn't mind; he had no idea what to say, anyway.

"So…" Will began. "I'm glad you don't hate me."

Nico looked up, confused. Will studied him gingerly.

"Hate you?" He asked in a small voice. "Why would I hate you?"

"Well… um…" Will stammered. "You know, I kissed you 'n stuff. Without asking." He blushed.

Nico blushed, too.

"Oh," he said. "That's… okay."

Will chuckled. In the distance, the Conch Horn sounded for dinner.

"I guess that's our call," Will glanced towards the dining pavilion.

Nico almost sighed; he felt so comfortable in Will's arms, hiding away in the shadows of the trees that he didn't want to go. He wanted to hold on and tell Will to skip dinner.

"I guess," he answered instead.

Will took a step backwards, taking Nico's right hand and tracing his cheek with the other.

"You're too damn cute, you know that, Death Boy?" He grinned, his expression full of affection.

His tender gaze made Nico so uncomfortable that he blushed and looked to the side.

"Don't call me that," he murmured, but, even to himself, he didn't sound convincing.

"Sure." Will started in the direction of the dining pavilion, still holding on to Nico's hand.

Nico stayed put and glanced at their joined hands.

"What?" Will asked.

"Um…" Nico began. "Could we not…?"

Will followed Nico's eyes and frowned.

"What? You want to keep this a secret?"

Will looked so displeased that Nico hesitated. But he simply wasn't a person for showing affection in public, much less admit that he and Will were now – wait, what exactly were they, anyway? He stared at the ground until Will sighed and let go.

"Okay, okay." Will put his hands up in defeat. "But don't expect me to hide forever. I do want to show my boyfriend off to people."

"Boy –"

"Oh, don't look so surprised, Nico!" Will chided. "Or are you so easygoing that you would go around smooching just anyone?"

Nico only glowered at him. Why was it that he liked this boy, again?

"See? Didn't think so." Will shrugged and started walking off.

Nico had to take a few big steps to catch up to him.

"And don't say 'smooching'," he grumbled.

Will grinned.

…

Will sat at the Apollo table, the object of highest interest with all his cabin mates. Nico at the Hades table almost faded into the shadows. Will was in such high spirits, the pestering didn't bother him in the slightest.

"Sooo…" Austin eyed him mischievously. "What did Nico want with you earlier?"

"Hm." Will shrugged. "Talk."

"You talked for an awful long time." He wiggled his eyebrows and Will grinned, bringing his face closer to Austin's.

"What? You never have nice long chats with your friends, Austin?"

The other boy blushed, losing his train of thought, and Will laughed.

"Campers!" Chiron's voice rang through the dining hall.

Will and his cabin mates looked up.

"This week, I have received very favourable news." He smiled warmly as he gazed towards Percy. "It seems that Leo Valdez, the boy we thought had sacrificed himself for the sake of defeating Gaea –"

A ripple of sigh and sobs went through the tables. Cheerful, funny Leo had been an annoyance, but also a camp favourite. And he had been head counsellor for Hephaestus.

"Now, now," Chiron said. "What I was about to say is that, apparently, we were wrong."

"Wrong?" A young boy from Hephaestus jumped to his feet.

"Yes. Leo seems to be very much… alive. It appears he is currently travelling, though, and will only come by Camp Half-Blood sooner or later."

A sudden cheer erupted all throughout the hall. Will saw the little boy crying happily and glanced to Nico who, when he thought that nobody saw him, smiled fondly. Will chuckled.

"So!" Chiron called and they settled down. "In honour of this news, we shall hold a game of Capture The Flag tomorrow night." Chiron raised his goblet. "To the gods!"

"And to Leo!" Another Hephaestus camper called. Chiron chuckled.

"Yes," he said. "And to Leo."

"To the gods! To Leo!"

…

After dinner, they all gathered at the campfire and, as always, the Apollo cabin led a cheerful sing-along. Everyone was in a wonderful mood that evening and Nico couldn't blame them. What he had told Will had been true: he had never really bonded with Leo. But after losing his mother and Bianca and going through so much on his own, Nico had felt pretty bad when Leo had died. Something had felt off with Leo's death, sure, but Nico had still felt him die. It was a child of the underworld thing that he could feel it when people slipped off into his father's realm.

Now, in the celebrations of the night, Nico studied Will. Together with his cabin mates, he sang and danced in front of the fire. He didn't play an instrument, but his brother, Austin, was a wicked saxophonist. The orange light of the fire gleamed in Will's hair and he was practically glowing. Maybe that was an Apollo thing? Just as Nico was pondering that question, Jason popped down next to him.

"Will's a pretty good singer," he said, following Nico's gaze. Nico cursed himself and frowned.

"Whatever," he mumbled.

"Hm." Jason studied him. "Don't you wanna join us?"

He gestured towards the better half of the Argo II's crew that was gathered together at one side of the fire, together with Grover and a green tree nymph. They were joking happily, Annabeth encased in Percy's arms and the tree nymph dancing around them. Nico made a face.

"No thanks," he said. "Too much fluffiness."

"Aw, come on man." Jason elbowed him. When Nico silently rubbed his arm and stared into the fire, Jason rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, I get it."

But he stayed by Nico's side for a while.

"Say," he said after some silence.

"Hm?"

"So… you're really over Percy?" Jason looked worried, the shadows of the fire deepening the lines in his face.

It occurred to Nico that he might have taken Nico's unwillingness to join them as a sight of not wanting to be near 'Percabeth', as the Aphrodite kids called the couple. Recalling all of the events that had happened today (okay, admittedly, all the Will), the thought of jealousy towards Annabeth almost made him laugh. He granted Jason a small smile.

"It's not like you think," he told him. "I'm honestly very much over Percy. As I said," he glanced towards the son of Poseidon who grinned sheepishly with his girl in his arms, "he is cute, but he's not my type."

Jason seemed to believe him and his face relaxed.

"Okay," he said, suddenly looking mischievous. "Who is your type, then?"

Just as Nico was about to deny having a type, his type appeared and squeezed in between Jason and him. Nico blushed and wanted to slap him.

"Hey Nico, Jason." Will nodded at them both and smiled, obviously satisfied with himself.

"Hey, Will…" Jason eyed him curiously.

Will hadn't put an arm around Nico or grabbed his hand, but their shoulders were touching and Nico's heartbeat sped up.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Nico's –"

"Nothing!" Nico intervened, before Jason could say anything.

"Nothing?" Will knitted his eyebrows.

"Nothing of importance." Nico shot him a warning look like 'hold back, will you'.

"Hm." Will shrugged.

Nico wanted to roll his eyes when he saw Piper trotting over to them, followed by Percy, Annabeth, Grover and the nymph.

"Hey guys." Piper called, smiling.

The others joined them and Piper chatted away cheerfully, occasionally joined by Percy and Annabeth, who tried to look annoyed at him, but mostly failed. Great, now Nico was encased in a cocoon of fluffiness if he wanted it or not. When they started recalling the stories of their adventures, Jason throwing in bits and pieces of his time in Camp Jupiter, Nico decided it was time to grace the Hades cabin with his presence. He had made improvements to it during the week and, unexpectedly, it started to feel like home to him. Unnoticed by the others, who were entranced by Grover's story of being a Cyclops' bride, he slipped away.

Of course, Will followed him shortly afterwards.

"Hey Nico!" He called and jogged up to him just as he was nearing his cabin. "Wait up."

Nico took a deep breath and forced his racing heart to calm down. It was a minor success. Will put a hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly, though worry clouded his blue eyes.

"You okay?"

Nico almost smiled.

"Yeah," he said.

"Um…" Will walked beside him, their fingers touching every now and then. "Sorry about earlier."

"Earlier?" Nico asked.

"Er, you know…" Will blinked sheepishly. "When I kind of interfered with you and Jason…" His voice drifted off and this time Nico couldn't help but smile.

"You were being a bit obvious," he told him.

"I know…" Will pouted and Nico wanted to kiss him very badly.

"What was that, anyway? There was way more space on my right."

Will halted and stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Seriously?" He asked and Nico frowned.

"What?"

"I sat between you and Jason on purpose, Death Boy!"

"Don't call me – wait!" Nico blinked. "On purpose… don't tell me you were –"

"Oh no." Will groaned and covered his blushing face with his hand.

"Jealous?" Nico asked, incredulously. He was genuinely surprised.

"Of course I was jealous, Nico," Will admitted. "Jason is like a blonde superman."

They had now arrived at the Hades cabin and Nico looked up at Will, a little flustered.

"I don't feel that way for Jason, I never have," he said. "We're only friends."

"I know, but still…" Will pouted again.

Nico couldn't take it anymore, so he took Will's hand and dragged him behind the cabin, in the shadows were no one could see them.

"Nico, wha –"

But before he could finish his sentence, Nico had already pressed his lips upon Will's. Startled at first, the son of Apollo did not respond, then he pulled Nico closer and tenderly cupped his neck. When they let go of each other, Nico blushed and stared to the side.

"Do you understand now?" He asked quietly.

Will nodded.

"Good."

With that, Nico briskly walked to his cabin's entrance, turning back only when he was almost inside. Will still stared at him, his face flushed.

"Good night, Will," he said and quickly entered.

Through the closed door, Nico could hear Will's muffled voice.

"Good night, Death Boy."

Nico sighed and a smile crept over his face.

 _Okay, I admit it, I thought I had finished my story, but then I kind of want to continue. Damn these to awkward little cupcakes, I love them so much!_

 _Yours in demigodishness and all that._

 _Peace out,_

 _Chapgirl_


End file.
